With over 18 installments in the Spider-Man series of games dating back to 1982 and surely many more yet to arrive, “Ultimate Spider-Man” (PS2) vastly improves some of the historically tricky features in the brand but misses the mark of truly being the defining moment for the witty web slinger.
Developed by Activision-owned Treyarch as its third Spidey title, the game reflects the team’s experience with the Marvel Universe and eagerness to present an enjoyable, unconstrained romp through the ever-dangerous streets of New York.
One of the strongest features of the game includes flashy art direction emphasized by beautiful cell shading, very much giving the game an animated graphic novel feel. Spidey’s character and animation are sleek and nimble, giving the appearance of speed while slinging your way through the city. The ravenous Venom has a disturbingly dark and shadowy feel to him that may appeal to many potential players clamoring for villainous roles – especially those who clamor for fame in publisher NCSoft’s “City of Villains” online game.
Combat is straightforward and easy to learn but also lacks in many respects. When I stormed through the city as this antihero, I felt compelled to strike fear in the hearts of all who were unlucky enough to cross my path. However, eating hapless souls just didn’t hold my attention after replenishing myself with a few balloon wielding youngsters – but eating foulmouthed would-be bad guys never gets old. I looked forward to the time I spent as Venom and found my battle with Wolverine to be one of the more compelling attractions to continue the game.
As both Spidey and Venom, I discovered that button mashing was vastly superior to measured attack and counterattack – especially in tight spaces where objects in the environment become unnecessary obstacles. Venom’s tentacles do plenty of damage at a distance, and his close attacks are quite gruesome. Spidey prefers less lethal modes of punishing evil doers but hanging comical gangsters from light poles becomes less amusing fast once you’ve adorned a few of them.
Moving your Spider personae through the world is a little awkward at first – you have a single web shooter in action at a time and this can be cumbersome in situations where Spidey needs to demonstrate real dexterity, like when negotiating corners. To the designer’s credit, 3D web-based movement is problematic for a land bound biped like me, but after the first race with the Human Torch I was forced to hone my slinging skills well enough to get comfortable enough for the game to take off the training wheels.
The story is very compact. An eager player of reasonable skill can expect to discover and complete the various plot points that make up the comic book storyline in one long afternoon session. The side missions lost my interest after the second race and the third time that I rendered assistance to a panicked victim. If you enjoy time challenges, you can spend many hours trying to improve your racing skills by seeking out various levels of racing competition against both the clock and familiar competitors.
The story missions are well designed and written, but the various side missions are not interwoven in an obvious way. The openness of the game provides paths that players looking for different kinds of play experiences will enjoy, reminiscent of other games that let players get in the driver’s seat and craft their own experience.
I found the game to be fun and brief. If you are looking for a Spidey fix and care less about limitless replayability, this is the game for you. Marvel’s characters provide a rich fabric for story threads and the three dimensional world provides visually compelling gameplay. In the end, Treyarch brings a lot of talent to the table and pulls off a great addition to the storied line of Spider-Man games.
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